NJ Medical Marijuana: Status Update

Originally, New Jersey's first medical marijuana dispensary was set to open in July 2011. It's been two years since the program went into effect for chronically-ill patients, and they are still waiting for the doors to open. Last month, patients finally received the green light to register for the program.

With the August announcement, the New Jersey Department of Health said the distribution center in Montclair (Greenleaf Compassion Center) should be open this month.

On Monday, Greenleaf CEO Joe Stevens said the process could take another few weeks. He said complications within the town are delaying a facility inspection from the state.

"(Our inspectors) are going to look for a variety of things to make sure that they meet all the program requirements," explained Donna Leusner with the Department of Health. "There's requirements that relate to security, having properly working computers and everything they need to do in order to sell the product."

If the facility passes inspection, that's not the last step. Next, the medical marijuana product would need to be tested for the presence of mold and pesticides. Testing could take three to four days.